This research is an experimental effort to demonstrate the feasibility of a means to improve ignition and enhancement of combustion by Infrared Multiphoton Dissociation (IRMPD). Ignition by IRMPD of combustible methanol-air mixtures is chosen as a test reaction. An apparatus has been designed for detecting laser ignition and simultaneously measureing the number of photons absorbed. It will be used to establish whether observed ignitions are truly caused by a multiphoton process. The potential for enhancing flame speed by IRMPD is to be explored by studying the temperature dependence of multiphoton absorption.
